Screws or nuts on machines, for example, are prevented from becoming loose and unscrewed while the machine is operating by fixtures for securing the screws or nuts. Conventional fixtures for securing screws and nuts are disclosed in "Roloff/Matek Maschinenelemente" [Roloff/Matek Machine Components], ninth edition, Vieweg Verlag 1984, pp. 193 ff. By way of example, screws or nuts which are subject to considerable vibrational loads, as may arise in machines, are held by wire securing means which connect the screw or nut which is to be secured to parts of the machine by means of a wire, thus preventing them from becoming loose and unscrewed. However, attaching the wire which is to be used is complex and expensive, particularly with complicated attachments and attachment arrangements which are difficult to reach.
Another possibility of securing screws or nuts so that they do not become loose and unscrewed which is mentioned in "Roloff/Matek Maschinenelemente", ninth edition, Vieweg Verlag 1984, pp. 193 ff. is for the screw to be welded to the nut or for the screw or nut to be welded to a component of the machine. To release this method of securing screws or nuts, it is necessary for the weldjoints to be ground off. This dirties, damages or even destroy surrounding components as a result of the grinding dust. Furthermore, the screws, the screw heads or the nuts are damaged, causing considerable costs if expensive screws made from high-quality material are used. In addition, such grinding work is extremely complex, particularly if the number of screws and nuts which has to be removed, which is often considerable, is taken into account.
Therefore, the object of the invention is to provide a securing fixture for a screw or a nut which can be applied in a particularly simple manner and can be released very easily and at little cost, without significant production of dirt.
The securing fixture according to the invention is of disk-like design and has a holding device for holding a screw or nut which is to be secured. Furthermore, the holding device comprises at least one projection, the end of which can be welded or adhesively bonded to a component of a machine, for example. This corresponding projection advantageously has a parting location which does not lie in the area of rotation of the nut or the head of the screw. The welded or adhesively bonded end of the projection can advantageously be parted from the remaining part of the projection very easily and quickly and virtually without causing dirt, and the securing fixture can thus be removed, by simply applying a chisel to this parting location. Moreover, a screw or nut is in no way damaged or destroyed, since rounding of the edges of the bead of the screw or the nut caused by turning is prevented. Embodiments of the securing fixture have a plurality of projections which are arranged radially in the plane of the holding device or at any desired angle to the holding device. Such attachments allow the securing device to be arranged on and fixed to a component, in particular a component of a machine, which is difficult to reach, by welding or adhesive bonding. With the aid of these embodiments of the projections of the securing fixture according to the invention, it is possible for screws or nuts to be secured in a flexible manner and under any stipulated spatial conditions and, if appropriate, to be removed again with great ease.